She loves Mama 100 times over

Manchester, Jamaica:

Their birthdays are just three days apart, but for the past 10 years, Jonnette Simmonds has over-looked her day to ensure that enough preparation goes into the birthday parties for her mother, the countdown to 100.

In her eyes, this is the least she can do to make sure the matriarch of her family knows how much she is loved and appreciated for all the sacrifices she has made for everyone.

To have a mother who is a centenarian, a walking history book, as Simmonds puts it, is nothing short of amazing.

"I started growing up with Mommy when I was eight years old because you know in those times your grandparents took over when your parents had to go to Kingston or overseas for work. So I moved to America with my mother and brother in 1955. When we first moved to America, Mom told us not to touch the venetian blinds because based on how they opened and closed she thought it must be electricity powered, so we shouldn't touch it ..."

She added, "She is like a history book for us: she goes way back, back to when the first car came in the district and how the people use to run and hide in the bushes when they heard it coming. She goes back to the time when her uncle brought ice from Kingston - they didn't know anything about ice - and when she got a piece it 'burned' her hand so she put it down to cool. But when she returned it was just water. I mean the stories are endless!"

Simmonds says more than the episodes of laughter, she is grateful for the values instilled in her.

Rebellious child

"Mom always told us this, 'If you are a liar, you are a thief, so try not to do either'. Her thing was always to tell the truth and avoid a beating or tell a lie and get a whopping.

"My beatings were many. I was the rebellious child. Now when she allowed you to go to a party you left home by 8 p.m. because she thought that was good enough, but she expected you to return by midnight. I mean, who leaves a party at 12? So my thing was if I go home one minute after 12, I'm still going to get a beating, so why not go in after 3 o'clock and get the same one beating?"

Simmonds said it was only after having children of her own that she truly understood why her mother operated the way she did.

"When my children did some of the same things I did to my mother, Mom always says, 'Me did tell you say you a go get you payback'. I had my first child when I was very young, and when I asked my mother to watch him, she would say, 'God give you two hip: when one tired put him pon the next'. She didn't disown me, she supported me a lot but she didn't baby me up. I had to learn how to handle my responsibilities."

Simmonds said as a result of her mother's tough love, she was able to go back to school and become a registered nurse.

Fast-forward to present day. Simmonds and her mother are closer than they have ever been. She has even left her home to live with her mother because she wants her to know that she will always be there for her.

"My mother is more active when people are around, and I love how active she is. We do everything together; we go to the river, we go to the beach, we go to Little Ochi, we visit friends and almost everywhere I go she is there with me. She is so vibrant and full of energy. When we had the party for her in New York in July, they had a soca line and she was leading that soca line!

"I think when you have old people, you don't put them away in nursing homes, you stay home with them and laugh and talk ...

"Just the other day she travelled to Canada by herself, and when you ask her if she really went by herself she said, 'No, the plane did full'. She said all she did was sit in a wheelchair and 'they take me wherever, I can't get lost and I can't get off at the wrong stop'. These are the things I love about her," added Simmonds, beaming with pride.

"She is jovial and witty out of this world - she brightens your day. I believe we should give her the roses while she is here and help her to know she is well loved," Simmonds ended.

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com